MOBILE, Ala. - State Rep. Jim Barton, R-Mobile, said Wednesday that he is resigning from his Alabama House seat effective immediately to take a lobbying job with a Montgomery-based governmental affairs firm.

“Representing the citizens of District 104 for the past 13 years has been a great honor, and I am proud of the many legislative accomplishments my Republican colleagues and I have been able to realize since taking over the majority,” Barton said. “But as a father and husband, I have to put the needs of my family ahead of my own political ambitions, and the business opportunity that has been offered to me is one that I must pursue.”

Barton said he will be joining the Kinney Capitol Group, a lobbying and consulting firm that represents the Alabama Retail Association, among other business interests.

Barton's replacement will be picked in a special election that will be called by Gov. Robert Bentley.

Barton, who serves as chairman of the influential House Ways and Means General Fund Committee, has held the House District 104 seat in south Mobile County since 2000. He ran unsuccessfully earlier this year in a special election for the state Senate District 35 seat, losing to Republican Bill Hightower of Mobile.

Barton's departure is the latest in a string of high-profile resignations among state elected officials in recent weeks.

Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman resigned in July to take a job as political director for Montgomery-based Alfa. State Rep. Jay Love, R-Montgomery, also resigned in July to take an unspecified lobbying job in Montgomery.

U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, resigned Friday to take a position as vice chancellor of government relations and economic development for the University of Alabama System in Tuscaloosa.

Barton, the owner of Bay Area Resources and Old South Construction in Mobile, became a prominent legislative player after Republicans took control of the Legislature in the 2010 election.

Barton thanked House Speaker Mike Hubbard for naming him to the committee chairmanship.

“Drafting a state budget with too many needs and too few resources is one of the most challenging and difficult jobs I’ve ever been given, but it has also been one of the most fulfilling,” Barton said.

“Serving alongside leaders like Speaker Mike Hubbard and Speaker Pro Tempore Victor Gaston makes leaving the Legislature even more difficult, but I will always value the friendship and kindness they have shown me during my time in Montgomery.”

Hubbard, R-Auburn, said Barton will be missed in the state House.

“Since Republicans took control of the Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction, Jim accomplished the difficult job of crafting General Fund budgets that funded essential state services without raising taxes on the citizens of Alabama,” Hubbard said in an emailed statement. “Jim has always been an effective leader in both the Republican Caucus and the Alabama House, as a whole, and we will all miss his daily presence.”

Alabama’s “revolving door” statute prohibits a public official from taking a paid job lobbying the entity in which they served for two years.

However, a 2003 opinion from the Alabama Ethics Commission said because the House and Senate are considered separate entities under the ethics law, a lawmaker could lobby the opposite chamber from which he served.